(06-11-2021 10:54 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(06-11-2021 02:51 PM)Statefan Wrote:  

(06-11-2021 02:33 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Also, 28 bids in 23 years is down right pathetic for the ACC.

Is it?

With FSU at it's greatest in the first quarter of this time frame, and Miami, VT, BC, Pitt, and Syracuse in the Big East and Utah and TCU in the Mountain West what would you expect?

Not pathetic per se, but the fewest of the surviving power conferences. Less than half of what the SEC accrued in this alternate timeline.

Having more teams in your conference helps.

From 53 to 71 the ACC had 8, while the Big 10 had 10 and the SEC had 12, then down to 10.

From 71 to 80 the ACC only had 7 to the above's 10 schools.

From 1990 to 2003 the ACC only had 9 compared to the B10's 11 and the SEC's eventual 12. The ACC does not pull even team number wise until 2014.

The Big 8 and SWC were always one or two school affairs from a national significance standpoint and only once in a blue moon did a third school pop up.
From 1936 to 1995 the SWC put teams in the final AP poll 121 times - an average of 2 per season. The So/Con-ACC from 1936 to 2012 when the ACC finally went to 14 averaged 1.92 rankings in the final polls and that's with a 10 year drought from 1963 to 1972 thanks the 800 SAT rule. I would say that smaller sized conferences are not able to sustain more than 2 really successful programs at one time and to even do that the top programs have to be equally matched.